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NEIGHBOURHOOD WATCH
CREATING SAFE AND
VIBRANT COMMUNITIES
In this edition Govlink magazine chats with
Neighbourhood Watch Australasia CEO Ingrid Stonhill.
With 30 years of community engagement under its belt, is
Neighbourhood Watch meeting the needs of today’s society?
It’s a question I am often asked, which always leads
me down a path of reflection. I first became aware
of Neighbourhood Watch in my early twenties as a
‘fresh out of university’ working professional that
was flatting for the first time. We were burgled. I
remember clearly the indignation I felt by the invasion
of my home and theft of my property. (Can I just add
here it was money, jewellery and small items. The TV
and DVD in those days were far too heavy to hoist
quickly and none of us had dreamt, or even imagined,
about something called a laptop).
The lovely community police officer who attended
our call out recommended that I consider starting a
Neighbourhood Watch group. A what? Whilst I could
not recall his response to that specific question I do
recall his explanation as to why Neighbourhood Watch
groups had taken off in the city. About a year earlier
a woman had been bashed in her own home. Her
screams for mercy and help had gone unaided. Her
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neighbours had heard her but had done nothing. That
story had a profound and long lasting effect on me.
I have always held the belief that Neighbourhood
Watch started as the mechanism to give permission
for neighbours to go next door and meet one
another. It is based on the principle that people
need to be connected to people to survive. Perhaps
the original sharing of crime statistics or details
of some heinous crime may have been a little
scaremongering to encourage involvement. However
the basic fundamental intent has always been there.
We all want to feel safe in our homes, streets and
communities. So knowing who is right next door to us
is important in achieving that.
I took for granted what I had growing up. As a kid I
did a paper round, I also did a Sunday morning paper
and fresh bread run for our elderly neighbours. That’s
how I earned my pocket money. The local store owner
knew me by name, where I lived and who my parents